Dad’s gym-related throat lump turns out to be cancer linked to bedroom activity

HGV driver Frank Lane, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, was shaving when he noticed a lump in his throat – and was stunned when doctors told him what caused his cancer

A father was shocked to find out that the lump in his throat, which he initially attributed to fatigue from gym workouts, turned out to be throat cancer linked to oral sex.

Frank Lane, while shaving, noticed a hard, egg-sized lump on his neck and assumed it was just swollen glands from intense exercise sessions. However, after two weeks with no improvement, the 60 year old visited his doctor, who discovered a mass on his tonsils and sent him for a biopsy.

Merely 10 days post-biopsy, Frank, an HGV driver, received the crushing diagnosis of throat cancer. He reports that doctors informed him it was caused by HPV, contracted through oral sex—a factor also cited by celebrity Michael Douglas regarding his own throat cancer in 2010.

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According to Frank, medical professionals believe he acquired the virus some 40 years ago, around the time he enlisted in the army at age 20. Following strenuous chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Frank is now cancer-free and has regular bi-monthly check-ups.

Post-diagnosis, the father of two humorously remarked, ‘I’m never doing that again,’ joking that he would turn down even Kylie Minogue or Demi Moore if they came knocking, reports the Daily Star.

From Basingstoke, Hampshire, Frank expressed his initial disbelief upon hearing his diagnosis: “When they said I had throat cancer I thought he was talking a load of rubbish for a split second because I’d stopped smoking 10 years ago.

“[When he said] you’ve got throat cancer from oral sex it was a surprise. Some of the guys I’ve told at work laughed, not because I had cancer but because of how it came about.

“They said I was talking a load of rubbish, I told them to Google it and I saw the color drain from their faces. The consultant said because of the shape of the virus inside my biopsy they ascertain it’s from about 40 years ago.

“I was sexually active around the age of 20. I was having fun, but I wasn’t messing about with loads of different girls. When I got told, I was thinking ‘f*** that, I’m never doing it again’.

“To be honest it could be Kylie Minogue or Demi Moore and if they were like ‘hey Frank come on’ I’d be like ‘nah, you’re alright’.”

Frank initially spotted the swelling on his neck in November, 2023, and after two weeks with no improvement, he visited his doctor before receiving his devastating diagnosis in December, 2023.

Frank, a former Royal Corps of Signals serviceman for 12 years, underwent two initial chemotherapy sessions at Henley Hospital in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, in January 2024. When the treatment failed to shrink the tumor, medical professionals prescribed an intensive six-week radiotherapy program to target the cancer.

Frank recalled: “I was having a shave, felt my neck and thought ‘that feels a bit hard’. It was just a slight swelling. When the doctor looked in my mouth she could actually see it sticking out of the top of my tonsils, it was the size of a boiled egg.

“I was very tired but I just thought it was down to work and not getting enough sleep. I was also waking up to go to the toilet three or four times a night, but I put that down to getting older. My partner said to give it a fortnight as it might be my glands – [caused by] the stress of going to the gym.

“I remember thinking ‘what the hell are you talking about throat cancer?’ I was in the army for 12 years and that [radiotherapy] was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

Now, 16 months after finishing his treatment, Frank is encouraging others to get any unusual symptoms checked out, humorously advising that the best way to avoid his predicament is to ‘not have oral sex’.

Frank shared: “I’ve been telling a lot of people – colleagues at work, people I chat to and meet at the gym and they’re like ‘oh my God, you’re kidding me?'”

“My advice would be don’t have oral sex. [Laughing] For anyone who can’t follow that, my advice would be if you have any unusual symptoms don’t ignore them, get it checked out.”

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of viruses that affect the skin and moist linings of the body, such as those in the cervix, anus, mouth, and throat. It’s often transmitted during sexual activity, including oral sex.

HPV is known to cause cellular changes in the cervix, which can lead to cervical cancer. It’s believed that the virus may have a similar impact on throat cells, but further research is required.

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